Technical Pens Review

What is a technical pen?

• A technical pen is a pen intended for technical drawing for use by engineers, architects and drafters.
• Technical pens are specialized in creating lines of uniform thickness.
• Artists and graphic designers use these pens for drawing and sketching.

Review for 8 recommended brands of technical pens:

1. Staedtler Pigment Liner
2. Copic multiliner SP
3. Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment
4. Sakura Pigma Micron
5. Uni PIN Fine Line
6. Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen
7. Edding 1800 Profipen
8. Pilot Drawing Pen

Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase.

Pigment Liner technical pen by Staedtler comes in 12 nib sizes, from 0.05mm to 1.2mm.

Indelible, lightfast and waterproof pigment ink.

According to Staedtler, these technical pens can be left uncapped for at least 12 hours without drying.

Pros:

• High quality, lightfast pigmented ink
• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size
• These technical pens can be left with cap off while sketching or drawing

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

With 12 nib sizes and high quality ink, the Staedtler Pigment Liner is a good example for an excellent artist-grade drawing pen.

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Copic Multiliner SP technical pen comes in 9 nib sizes, from 0.03mm to 0.7mm, and a brush pen.

Filler & nibs for Copic Multiliner SP can be replaced when necessary.

Besides black, these technical pens come in 12 colors.

In addition to the SP model, a non-SP disposable Multiliner technical pen exists, and it is cheaper.

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Pros:

• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Refillable
• Replaceable nibs
• Durable non-smearing ink
• A high quality technical pen with a beautiful design and an aluminum body
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Pricey

Conclusion:

Compared to other technical pens on this review, Copic is significantly expensive.

That said, it delivers with high quality, beautiful design and it is long-lasting.

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The Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment technical pen comes in 8 nib sizes, from 0.1mm to 0.8mm.

These technical pens are lightfast, meaning their ink is resistant to fading when exposed to light.

In addition to the black pen, Faber-Castell's technical pens are available in 3 colors: red, green and blue.

Pros:

• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Pigmented ink, lightfast, permanent, Acid-free, archival
• High quality ergonomic structure

Cons:

• No size caption on the top part of the cap

Conclusion:

The Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment is flawless with superior ergonomic structure.

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The Pigma Micron technical pen comes in 6 nib sizes, from 0.2mm to 0.5mm.

These technical pens have a durable ink made of pigments. They are manufactured by Sakura.

In addition to black, these technical pens come in 14 colors for the nib size 0.45mm. Fewer colors for other nib sizes.

Pros:

• High quality, durable pigmented ink
• Affordable price
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

Not that versatile when it comes to nib sizes, but good price and quality make the Pigma Micron a favorite for many artists.

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The Uni PIN Fine Line technical pens come in 10 nib sizes, from 0.03mm to 0.8mm and a brush pen.

Fade proof and water resistant Ink.

In addition to black, sizes 0.1 and 0.5 come in 5 colors.

Pros:

• Fade proof and water resistant Ink
• Affordable price
• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

Uni PIN Fine Line is another good example for a drawing pen. The nib size is well-written for ease of use.

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The Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen technical pens come in 4 nib sizes: 0.1mm, 0.3mm, 0.5mm and 0.7mm.

Pigmented and lightfast drawing ink.

Pros:

• Affordable price when buying a set of 4
• The ink is water-resistant, permanent, odor-free, acid-free, and pH neutral

Cons:

• Only 4 nib sizes
• Actual size in millimeters not written
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

Like other Faber-Castell products, these technical pens offer quality. They offer limited size range though. The Ecco Pigment (see above) is a better choice in my opinion.

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The Edding 1800 Profipen technical pens come in 4 nib sizes: 0.25mm, 0.35mm, 0.5mm and 0.7mm.

Lightfast, waterproof pigment ink.

These technical pens come in 4 colors: black, red, blue and green.

Pros:

• Waterproof pigmented Ink
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• A bit pricey
• Only 4 nib sizes
• It is hard to open and close the cap
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

The Edding 1800 is a good pen when it comes to ink quality but they are limited in nib sizes and the cap is too hard to open or close.

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Pilot Drawing Pen technical pens are water-based and come in 5 nib sizes: 0.28mm, 0.35mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm and 0.8mm.

Water-resistant & light-resistant pigment ink.

3 colors to choose from: black, red and blue.

Pros:

• Waterproof pigmented Ink
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Nib size not written on the pen's body
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

I use these pens only for quick sketches or writing since they are smooth.

There is a large selection of recommended brands for technical pens for drawing, sketching and writing. Some of them are high quality and expensive while others are affordable.

Technical pens are suitable for:

• Drawing coloring pages
• Drawing comic characters
• Combined with paint markers

Important:

• Pressing hard with a technical pen while drawing can scratch the paper sheet and damage it.
• Technical pens have a thin and gentle nib, especially the small sizes, which can bend if pressed hard.
• Some technical pens should be stored horizontally.

More examples for drawing with these technical pens can be found in the how to create depth tutorial.

For the biggest selection of online art supply, visit Blick Art Materials.

Keep in mind:

Another tool for drawing and sketching anything, anywhere, is a mechanical pencil.

The advantage of a mechanical pencil is that mistakes can be erased.

The advantage of a technical pen is that it is permanent and it does not smudge.

To learn more on how to use mechanical pencils, visit how to draw with a mechanical pencil.

The technical pen brand review and drawings were made with technical pens owned by the author.